Shaft support arrangement for appliance having a rotating cylinder

ABSTRACT

A unique shaft support arrangement for an appliance having a rotating cylinder is provided. The back wall of the cylinder includes a central piloting hole adapted to receive a screw for engagement with one end of the torque transmitting shaft and permit alignment of the cylinder relative to the shaft axis. A disk is brazed or welded to the shaft close to the one end. A shaft support in the form of a frusto-conical member surrounds the shaft and has its larger diameter base abutting the disk and its smaller diameter base abutting the inner race of a bearing secured to the frame of the appliance. A plurality of screws secure the cylinder back wall, disk, and large diameter base of the shaft support to each other thereby enabling torque to be transmitted to the cylinder through the shaft while insuring that the cylinder remains in axial alignment with the shaft. The other end of the shaft extends through the bearing to receive a sprocket wheel which delivers torque from the appliance motor.

United States Patent Shadley CYLINDER [75] inventor: Glen W. Shadley, Herrin, 111.

[73] Assignee: Fedders Corporation, Edison, NJ.

[22] Filed: Feb. 20, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 333,964

[52] U.S. Cl. 34/139, 34/133 [51] Int. Cl. F26b 11/02 [58] Field of Search 34/133, 139, 58; 308/19 T,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,098,726 7/1963 Stone 34/133 2,830,384 4/1958 Zehrbach 34/133 2,972,817 2/1961 Davidson 34/133 3,257,736 6/1966 Lachet et al 34/133 2,682,711 7/1954 Wakefield 34/133 3,022,580 2/1962 Doty 34/133 [451 Apr. 23, 1974 Primary Examiner-William F. O'Dea Assistant Examiner-Paul Devinsky Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ryder, McAulay, Fields,

Fisher & Goldstein [57] ABSTRACT A unique shaft support arrangement for an appliance having a rotating cylinder is provided. The back wall of the cylinder includes a central piloting hole adapted to receive a screw for engagement with one end of the torque transmitting shaft and permit alignment of the cylinder relative to the shaft axis. A disk is brazed or welded to the shaft close to the one, end. A shaft support in the form of a frusto-conical member surrounds the shaft and has its larger diameter base abutting the disk and its smaller diameter base abutting the inner race of a bearing secured to the frame of the appliance. A plurality of screws secure the cylinder back wall, disk, and large diameter base of the shaft support to each other thereby enabling torque to be transmitted to the cylinder through the shaft while insuring that the cylinder remains in axial! alignment with the shaft. The other end of the shaft extends through the bearing to receive a sprocket wheel which delivers torque from the appliance motor.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to appliances of the type having a rotating cylinder and more particularly to an arrangement for assuring parallel alignment between the axis of the cylinder shaft and the axis of the cylinder.

Many appliances make use of a rotating drum or cylinder. Such an appliance is the clothes dryer where there is provided a cylinder designed to receive wet clothes to be dried and to rotate during the drying operation. The cylinder must be coupled to a shaft which, in turn, is driven by the dryer motor. In order to minimize vibrations and to insure smooth operation, it is important that the shaft axis and cylinder axis be properly aligned and maintained in parallel alignment throughout its years of use. This is especially so in view of the fact that the shaft cannot extend into the cylinder and thus, the cylinder mustbe cantilevered from one end of the shaft.

In view of the above, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement for an appliance which enables parallel alignment of the appliance cylinder and shaft axis and insures the alignment being maintained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above and other beneficial objects and advantages are attained in accordancewith the present invention by providing an appliance of the type having motor means, a cylinder adapted to be rotated about its longitudinal axis by the motor means, shaft means adapted to support the cylinder and drive means adapted to transmit torque from the motor to the cylin' der, with a unique shaft supporting arrangement adapted to insure the parallel alignment of the cylinder axis and shaft axis. The support means of the present invention includes a plate disposed about the shaft at one end and rigidly secured to the shaft. Asingle ball bearing is fixed to the appliance framework and sup ports the shaft adjacent its opposite end. A frustoconical shaft supporting member closely fits about the shaft and is co-extensive with the shaft extending be tween the bearing and the plate with the small diameter end of the member abutting the inner race of the bearing and the large diameter end of the member abutting the plate. Means are provided for coupling the cylinder rear wall, plate and shaft support to each other after parallel alignment has been first. established. To this end, pilot holes are provided in the rear wall of the cylinder and the one end of the shaft which enable the cylinder to be properly aligned with the shaft on an appropriate fixture. After the cylinder and shaft are properly aligned, the coupling means serves to insure that the alignment is maintained during prolonged years of use and operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partly fragmentary rear elevational view of a dryer in accordance with the present invention wherein the cabinet has been removed to more readily depict the area of concern;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the clothes receiving drum or cylinder of the dryer looking at the cylinder rear wall from the: front of the cylinder interior;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational sectional view taken along reference lines 3- 3 in the direction indicated by the arrows on FIG. 2 and depicting the dryer cylinder and shaft support arrangement of the present invention; and,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to FIG. 3 depicting the specific shaft support arrangement of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT throughout the several views. In particular, reference is made to FIG. 1 wherein a dryer 10 is shown with portions of the outer cabinet removed. The dryer includes a motor 12 designed to rotate a perforated cylinder or drum 14 adapted to receive wet clothes to be dried. To this end, the motor torque is transmitted to the cylinder through a series of belts and pulleys generally designated 16 which drive a chain 18 which, in turn, drive a sprocket wheel 20 at the rear of cylinder 14. Suitable bearing rollers 22 cooperate in supporting the dryer cylinder as it is rotated. Heat for the clothes to be dried is provided by a gas fired combustion chamber 24 located at the top of the dryer.

Access to the interior of cylinder 14 is provided through an opening 26 in the front of thedryer designed to be closed by an appropriate door (not shown). The various other operational features of the dryer are not material to the present invention and hence need not be discussed further.

As shown in FIG. 4, the dryer cylinder is supported for rotation by a shaft 28 coupled. to the rear wall 30 of the cylinder. Shaft 28 is supported for rotation by ball bearing 32 and is rotated by operation of the motor through sprocket wheel 20 threadedly fastened to end 34 of the shaft. To this end, the'threads 36 of the shaft extends rearwardly along the longitudinal axis of shaft 28 from the shaft forward end 44. The cylinder is secured to the shaft by a bolt 50 passing through hole 46 I and engaging the threaded hole 48 of the shaft.

In accordance with the present invention, a plate 52 of heavy gauge metal encircles the shaft and is rigidly brazed or welded in position against shoulder 54 close to the front end of the shaft. Plate 52 is so positioned along the shaft so as to abut the rear wall 30 of the cylinder when the pilot bolt 50 is in position. A frustoconical shaft support member 56 fits about the shaft for the full length of the shaft between plate 52 and bearing 32. In this connection, it should be noted that the smaller diameter base 58 of member 56 abuts the inner race of bearing 32 and the larger diameter base 60 abuts plate 52.

The larger diameter base 60 of member 56, plate 52, and the rear wall 30 of cylinder 14 are provided with a series of aligned holes through which screws 62 pass. Screws 62 cooperate with nuts 64 and washers 66 in coupling the cylinder rear, plate and shaft support member to one another. Since plate 52 is brazed or welded to shaft 28, the plate will rotate with the shaft and the shaft's torque may thus be transmitted through screws 62 to the cylinder. As shown in FIG. 2, four coupling screws 62 are provided disposed at equal arc segments along a common circle. Referring back to FIG. 4, it should be noted that the large base 60 of member 56 includes a portion 68 extending beyond the common circle which continues to a free end 70 beyond the edge of plate 52 and abutting the rear wall 30 of cylinder 14. An epoxy bonds the base to the rear wall of the dryer.

During assembly, the cylinder is secured to the shaft by screw 50 passing through holes 46 and 48 while the cylinder and shaft are supported in a suitable fixture to insure alignment. The four screws 62 and their associated nuts 64 are then tightened. During operation, torque from the shaft to the cylinder is transmitted via the screws 62. Byemploying the above described arrangement, it has been found that alignment of the shaft and cylinder can be maintained even after long periods of use and, accordingly, the aforementioned objectives are attained.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed 1. ln a domestic appliance of the type having a framework containing therein motor means, a cylinder adapted to be rotated about an axis by said motor means, said axis extending between the front and rear of said cylinder, shaft means adapted to support said cylinder, and drive means adapted to transmit torque from said motor to said cylinder the improvement comprising support means for said shaft adapted to insure the parallel alignment of the cylinder axis with the longitudinal axis of the shaft, said support means including: a plate disposed about said shaft at one end and rigidly secured to said shaft, bearing means secured to said framework and supporting the shaft near the other end, a shaft supporting member encircling said shaft and coextensive with the shaft between the bearing and plate, and means for coupling said cylinder rear, plate and support to each other.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a first pilot hole in said cylinder rear, a second, threaded pilot hole in said shaft one end and bolt means adapted to secure said cylinder rear to said shaft one end through said pilot holes.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said bearing means comprises a ball bearing having an inner race and said shaft support means comprises a frusto-conical member closely fitting about said shaft and having its inner diameter base abutting said inner race and its larger diameter base abutting said plate.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein said coupling means comprises a plurality of screws and nuts passed through aligned openings through said cylinder rear, plate and large diameter base disposed along a common circle at equal angle intervals.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 4 wherein said large diameter base includes an integral portion extending beyond said common circle wherein siad portion is secured to said cylinder rear wall independently of said screws and nuts. 

1. In a domestic appliance of the type having a framework containing therein motor means, a cylinder adapted to be rotated about an axis by said motor means, said axis extending between the front and rear of said cylinder, shaft means adapted to support said cylinder, and drive means adapted to transmit torque from said motor to said cylinder the improvement comprising support means for said shaft adapted to insure the parallel alignment of the cylinder axis with the longitudinal axis of the shaft, said support means including: a plate disposed about said shaft at one end and rigidly secured to said shaft, bearing means secured to said framework and supporting the shaft near the other end, a shaft supporting member encircling said shaft and coextensive with the shaft between the bearing and plate, and means for coupling said cylinder rear, plate and support to each other.
 2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a first pilot hole in said cylinder rear, a second, threaded pilot hole in said shaft one end and bolt means adapted to secure said cylinder rear to said shaft one end through said pilot holes.
 3. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said bearing means comprises a ball bearing having an inner race and said shaft support means comprises a frusto-conical member closely fitting about said shaft and having its inner diameter base abutting said inner race and its larger diameter base abutting said plate.
 4. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein said coupling means comprises a plurality of screws and nuts passed through aligned openings through said cylinder rear, plate and large diameter base disposed along a common circle at equal angle intervals.
 5. The invention in accordance with claim 4 wherein said large diameter base includes an integral portion extending beyond said common circle wherein siad portion is secured to said cylinder rear wall independently of said screws and nuts. 